Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1887-03-02
COTTON SEED OIL A KING.
ARMOUR & co. Tor BUILD IL
BIG MILLS IN THE SOUTH.

Four of the Lucky Cities Already Def
nftely Decided On, and the Probable
Other Eight on the List-The Value OF
the OIL Trust Certificates Take Big
Tumble.
NEW YORK, March IA Galveston
special announces the arrival there OF
p. ID. Armour and his party on their
Southern tour, and gives an interview
with MIR. Armour with reference to a re-
port that he and his associates were about
to build throughout the South dozen or
more large cotton seed oil mills. Mr..
Armour freely corroborated this report,
and gave his reasons for his engaging in
the new enterprise, so widely different
from the business in which his fame and
fortune were acquired. Mr.. Armour
stated that the use OF cotton seed oil In
the manufacturing Of lard and hog pro-
ducts had grown to such an extent In
late years that his establishments alone
consumed one.fiflh OF the total cotton oil
crop OF tue United States. Hence cotton
seed oil was an important item to his firm.
THE BIG MONOPOLY.
The American Cotton Oil Trust Com
pany, gigantic corporation modelled
somewhat after the Standard OIL Com
pany, by a system or consolidation had
acquired control Of about all the cotton
oil mills in the country and virtually
monopolized the article, regulating It's
output and fixing it's price upon purely
arbitrary grounds. Recently, explained
MIR. Armour, the Trust Company became
direct competitor of MS firm by the
purchase of the large refinery and pack
ing house of n. X. Fairbanks & Co. and
the establishment Of Washington Butch
ers Sons.
"As soon," said Mr.. Armour, "as the
Trust Company entered my field as lard
producer resolved 10 make myself inde-
pendent of them IN the matter OF cotton
oil. and this could only be accomplished
by erecting oil mills AT available points
throughout the South"
STARTING THE COMPANY.
The new oil company will organize
early next week in Chicago. Mr.. Armour
VIII be represented at the meeting by his
Junior partners and associates. The capi-
tai stock Of the company will be about
$4,000, 600, every dollar of which will rep
resent actual property. Mr.. Armour was
emphatic In his declaration that no water
ing of the stock would be tolerated. He
stated that his firm would hold a controll-
ing interest, and that all stockholders
would be consumers of the oil product. In
fact. il is the intention of the company to
sell their oil to stockholders only. Mr..
Armours associates in the gigantic UNI
dertaking comprise all the leading soaV
manufacturers in the United States, In
Guiding j. ). KIRK dE Co., OF Chicago.
WHERE THE MILLS WILL BE LOCATED.
Twelve OF the largest cotton oil mills
in the world will be erected Immediately,
and equipped in time to grind the seed OF
the growing cotton plant. AS TO the loca-
tIon OF these great mills MIR. Armour said
four cities had thus lar been determined
upon, viz: Memphis, Atlanta, New Or
leans and Houston, Tex. The other eight
cities had been selected, but some details
must be perfected before announcing their
definite location. The correspondent has
reason to believe that Texas will capture
three of the mills, Arkansas two, and
Alabama and Mississippi one eacn.
TRUST CERTIFICATES DECLINE.
The Evening Post has the following in
its money article: "The feature OF the
forenoon was the enormous trading and
large decline in cotton seed oil trust GER
tiicates, which opened yesterday morn
ing at 90, this morning at 30, aud by
II O'Clock were down to 42A. These GER
titicates, which pominally represent an
Investment OF $4,000 eacn in cotton seed
oil mill property, are scattered all over the
Southern States. Not being ''listed"
security, nobody except, possibly, OFF,
clsls who issue them, know now many
OF them there are outstanding nor
what they really represent in
the way of actual property
OF any kind. Nothing about which there
has been SO little Information oDtainable
has ever been gambled in by the street TO
so large an extent, the total sales yester
day being % 600 certificates aud this fore
noon 15. 200. Toe reason for the decline
is probably just the absence of any in
formation about the company's affairs,
ard on the same ground there is no reason
why they should not decline as much
more, 10 some extent their decline mas
affected the general stock market, and
because a good many speculators have
lost money on tnem ana have thus weak
ened their holdings Of other stocks.
THE COMPANY.
PHILADELPHIA, March 1.-The Press
tomorrow viii say: The formation OF
an opposition company 10 the American
Cotton OIL Trust Is one of the boldest
moves ofits kind that has been known Tor
a long time. The corporation Will he or
gsnized in this city this week, probably
to-day or tomorrow. Its President will
be Henry G. Butcher, Of Washington
Butchers Sons, and it's capital STOCK will
be $l0,000,000. Besides Mr.. Butcher
ana his Philadelphia associates, tho
company will consist Of Philip ID. Al
monr of Chicago, Mr. Armour5 junior
partners, Webster and Cudahy of Kansas
CITY, and Oliver Brothers OF Charlotte, n.
G.. The promoters OF the enterprise in
dignantly deny that it is a stock jobbing
movement, and assert that the stock has
already been subscribed and Is being
eagerly sought after.